Hallmark's decision to censor the word "God" sparks debate

Some Christian viewers were outraged after Hallmark recently omitted the word God from a re-run of "It Could Happen to You." Hallmark explained the channel omitted the name of God in the movie because the characters take the Lord's name in vain.

The Hallmark Channel recently came under fire for editing the word God from a re-run of the 1994 movie "It Could Happen to You," reports Katherine Weber at The Christian Post.
Some Christian viewers expressed their outrage at Hallmark's decision on the channel's Facebook page.
"I was shocked, angry and greatly disappointed that during the movie 'It Could Happen to You.' Every time the name of God was used, it was muted out," wrote one commenter, per Christian Post. "I would never have thought the Hallmark Channel would cave in to so-called political correctness."
Other viewers expressed disbelief that Hallmark made this decision and threatened to stop watching the channel.
In response to these complaints, a Hallmark representative explained the channel omitted the name of God in the movie because the characters take the Lord's name in vain, wrote Abby Ohlheiser at The Wire.
"As the leader of family programming, Hallmark Channel strives to provide quality programming with a balance that includes both current and contemporary shows," the representative said in a statement. "In the recent airing of 'It Could Happen to You,' the word God was omitted as staying on the side of caution to not offend."
One commenter applauded Hallmark's decision to not air comments that use God's name casually. "Why are people offended over God being silenced in a movie? It offends God for his name to be used in that manner," the viewer said, per The Wire.
Hallmark is not the only company that censors the word God. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the duo who wrote the music featured in "Frozen," claimed Disney censors God during an NPR interview (though the company is concerned with avoiding all religious mentions rather than not taking the Lord's name in vain), according to Deacon Greg Kandra at Patheos.
"It's funny. One of the only places you have to draw the line at Disney is with religious things, the word God," said Anderson-Lopez.
"There was even a – well, you can say (God) in Disney but you can't put it in the movie," Lopez said.%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D163699%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E